Project 543 tells the story of unique spots across North Carolina we hope will become some of your favorite places. Why 543? Because that’s the number of miles from Manteo, on the coast, to Murphy, in the mountains, and is traditionally considered to be the width of our state. The entries in this project are in no particular order, and we’ll add to them each week. Check in often to find inspiration for your next trip, or start planning today at VisitNC.com.

What is Project 543?

Project 543 tells the story of unique spots across North Carolina we hope will become some of your favorite places. Why 543? Because that’s the number of miles from Manteo, on the coast, to Murphy, in the mountains, and is traditionally considered to be the width of our state. The entries in this project are in no particular order, and we’ll add to them each week. Check in often to find inspiration for your next trip, or start planning today at VisitNC.com.

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Take a hike on the "Road to Nowhere"

Just outside Bryson City inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a road named Lakeview Drive. If you follow it, it will lead you to a dead end at a tunnel — an unfinished project from the 1940s that was promised after Swain County gave up much of its private land to the federal government to create Fontana Lake and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The construction of this new road to replace the highway that was promised by the National Park Service came to a halt after encountering some environmental issues and was never finished. Today you can hike the 3.2-mile loop that passes under the bridge and by Fontana Lake, wild boar traps and abandoned homesteads left by relocated families.